Thoughts on religion, politics, history, astronomy, sports and mores from a traditionally Lutheran, more or less Center Right curmudgeon who loves history, astronomy, the Blackhawks, the Bears and the Cubs

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Do GOP grown-ups have a chance? We'll find out today

Today we will have a clear indication whether the grown-ups among the Republicans in the House of Representatives or the whackadoodles are going to be running the party in the near future.

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Christianity 101

ARRrrrrrr!

The Two Kingdoms

Lutherans believe that God governs the world He has created in two ways. The first is through the Gospel, the good news of His love for us in creation and most of all in Jesus Christ. Only members of the Church are subjects of this "Kingdom of the Right Hand," and even they are subjects of it only insofar as they are the "new creation" He brings about at baptism and which we spend the rest of our lives growing into. The Kingdom of the Right Hand contains no compulsion, no punishments, and no retribution. It is governed by love.

But insofar as we are fallen human beings, our relationships with Him and with each other affected by sin, God also governs through the Kingdom of the Left Hand. Contrary to a common misunderstanding, this is NOT simply the State as opposed to the Church. Rather, it involves government and rules and procedures and consequences also within the Church.

Since Christians are simul Justus et peccator (at the same time saints and sinners), even Christians hold citizenship in the Kingdom of the Left Hand. Where love governs the right, common sense, logic, justice and natural law- all things accessible to everyone- governs the Kingdom of the Left. So while insofar as we are Christians we have no political program, our Christianity plays itself out in the practical realm in supporting justice, common sense, and logic. Utilizing this distinction, Christians have led the fights to abolish slavery and child labor, as well as to accomplish virtually every other social reform of modern history on a basis which they can share with decent people of all religious persuasions, and none.

So on one hand, the idea that it's somehow up to the Church to "Christianize" the world is bogus; the same standards of decency and justice which apply to Christians apply to everyone else, too. The rule of the law- of government- is to keep the strong from beating up on the weak. And in fact, the moral standards of Christianity and Judaism agree with those of practically every other great religious and ethical tradition on nearly everything; C.S. Lewis even went so far as to call it "the Tao-" "The Way," generally perceived by human beings throughout history in remarkably similar fashion.

On the other hand, to claim that opposition to slavery or abortion is "imposing one's religious beliefs on others" is equally bogus, and for the same reason: there are no specifically 'religious" ethical beliefs, and any idea that can be argued for on religious grounds is perfectly proper in the secular realm as long as it can be advocated on secular grounds.

If it can't, then it still isn't inappropriate. Just self-defeating- and therefore harmless. You're never going to get a society to agree on something based on other people's religious beliefs!

Boycott Mozilla!!

Mozilla forced its CEO, Brendan Eich, to resign over his personal support for traditional marriage. People shouldn't be fired because of their political beliefs, regardless of what they are.

Wolfhart Pannenberg on Gay 'Marriage'

Here lies the boundary of a Christian church that knows itself to be bound by the authority of Scripture.

Those who urge the church to change the norm of its teaching on this matter (homosexual behavior) must know that they are promoting schism. If a church were to let itself be pushed to the point where it ceased to treat homosexual activity as a departure from the biblical norm, and recognized homosexual unions as a personal partnership of love equivalent to marriage, such a church would stand no longer on biblical ground but against the unequivocal witness of Scripture.

A church that took this step would cease to be the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.